Things to Take Away From Stoughton's Win Over Pembroke

Time will tell whether the first impressions of the Stoughton High School football team turn out to be true impressions.

If their 34-6 win over Pembroke is any indication of what's ahead though, the Black Knights are going to be a tough team to beat this fall.

After 44 minutes Thursday afternoon, it was hard to find anything wrong that Stoughton did against Pembroke and it was easy to see all the good things about the Black Knights.

1. Stoughton Can Score in a Hurry

Four plays showed just how other teams are going to be in a track meet against the Black Knights. If Milton, who the Black Knights will be traveling to Friday night, can't slow down Stoughton, the Wildcats are going to face the same problems Pembroke did.
As he was calling the play on the side, Stoughton offensive coordinator Bryan Carew could see the Titans wouldn't be able to defend against it. Carew spread senior running back Malachi Baugh on the outside, one on one against the Pembroke defensive back. Quarterback Stanley Sajous, who looks much taller than the 6-2 he is listed at, faked a hand-off and then hit the speedy Baugh in full stride, who reached out and grabbed the ball, racing for a 61-yard score.
"My coach (Carew) told me where to throw it," said Sajous. "Malachi was open on the post."
Using the "if they can't stop it, we're going to run it"  method, Carew called the same plan again. Once again, Sajous found Baugh against for a 39-yard score.
Then it was time for the defense and special teams to show off their speed.
On the first play of the season quarter, Pembroke quarterback Cory Brandon attempted to throw a pass to the outside, but the Black Knights' Kevin McDonald stepped in front of the pass and was into the end zone in the blink of an eye, hurdling over a would-be Titantackler. That gave Stoughton a 21-0 lead and basicially ended any hopes Pembroke had of winning the game.
After Pembroke scored its only points of the day on a 4-yard run by Kyle Horn, the Titans kicked off to senior Lenox Green. That turned out to be a mistake. After juggling the ball at first, he took off showing his speed, which took him 83 yards into the end zone on the kickoff return.
"I started going to the outside and it wasn't too open, so I had go inside and there were guys running at  me" aid Green. "I took the them out a bit and saw a wide-open hole."

2. Offensively, the Black Knights will be tough to defend against with their power and speed.
Traditionally, Stoughton has been one of the stronger, more physical teams in the Hockomock League. There has been a long line of punishing tough runners wearing the black and orange. 
They have that again this year.  Exhibit A would be the 15-yard run by junior Joseph Girolamo, who proved almost impossible for the Titans, with his speed and power. 
When you add that traditional power to a team of speedsters, you can see teams are going to have nightmares defending against the Black Knights.
What they did against Pembroke was wear them down with the plays of the offensive line and then they hurt the Titans with their speed.
Baugh, Green, Girolamo, MacDonald and Jovani Pires all have breakaway speed.
" We're got some very, very good speed," said Burke. 'We've got track guys. They're slender, but they are great in their weight room. They are as strong as any guys around, (including) some 200-pounders. That's where they get all of their speed, in the weight room."
With the performance of their offense line and the talent at the skill positions, the Black Knights are going to be tough to stop.

3. Goal line defense key to the win.
In the second quarter, Pembroke was trailing, 21-0, when they moved the ball down to the Black Knights' 1-yard line. They were then whistled for an offside penalty on a fourth down and one. That pushed them back to the 6-yard line. Brandon attempted a pass but he was rushed, and the pass fell short of the receiver.
"The goal line stand was huge," said Burke. "We practice that 10 plays a day for that reason, to make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be."
Brandon was forced to throw the ball most of the game, and that's something Stoughton opponents could find themselves in. 
"I don't think teams are going to run a lot of us," said Burke. "To be honest with you, I don't think they (Pembroke) could get many yardsrushing. They had one draw (play)."
 Burke said his team was going to work on their pass defense this week to try to shore things up, but he isn't worried when he sees opponent throwing the ball all over the place.
"Their quarterback was pretty good," said Burke. " If they are throwing a lot, that's means we are winning."

4. A Clean Effort for the Knights
Usually in the first game, there are some stumbles here and there, but that is something that was missing from the Black Knights against Pembroke. The Black Knights ended up with three, and that was something Burke stressed to his team.
"Our kids are very disciplined," said the head coach.  "If they get a penalty, they know they are going to be in trouble. We have all sorts of punishments for penalties, and they don't want to get punished.
"We have got  a pretty intelligent team," added Burke. "They know when to check out if there is a problem." 

5. This season has an extra sense of importance.
With basically a seven-game season to make the playoffs under the new format, there is really no time to get your feet wet in the early season games and get better as the season goes along. You basically have to be good right from the start. 
"I have had a lot of faith in this team all along," said Green. "I know we are going to do well this season."
In the last couple of seasons, the Black Knights were just worried about how they did against the other Hockomock League Davenport Division Schools, but that's changed with the new format,
''This was a big game for points," said Burke. "Last year, I never played so many hard games that didn't count, and we won.
 "We got our points, and that's all we are concerned about right now."